Police on Tuesday arrested 10 people on suspicion of running a human organ trafficking ring.

The traffickers are accused of matching poor kidney donors with those requiring urgent transplants, before pocketing most of the profits and failing to pass them on to donors – despite promising them financial rewards.

Malta, together with Azerbaijan, Russia, Tajikistan and Uzbekistan, has made it on to the international human trafficking watch list, compiled by OSCE representative Christopher Smith, Labour Deputy Leader Anglu Farrugia said yesterday.